Staff
| Charles Newell | Artistic Director |
| Stephen J. Albert | Executive Director |
| Ron OJ Parson | Resident Artist |
| Drew Dir | Resident Dramaturg |
| Cree Rankin | Casting Director/Artists-in-the-Schools Director |
| Marc Stubblefield | Director of Production |
| Laura Dieli | Assistant Production Manager/Company Manager |
| Ray Vlcek | Technical Director |
| Lara Musard | Properties Manager |
| Erica Friesen | Costume Shop Manager |
| Marc Chevalier | Master Electrician |
| Rory Murphy | Sound Engineer |
| Elaine Wackerly | Advancement Consultant |
| Jennifer Foughner | Assistant Director of Development for Institutional Relations |
| Colette Gregory | Asst. Dir. of Development for Special Events and Individual Giving |
| Melissa Aburano-Meister | Development Manager |
| Heidi Thompson Saunders | General Manager |
| Zachary Davis | Business Manager |
| Brea Hayes | Management Assistant |
| Adam Thurman | Director of Marketing and Communications |
| Traci Brant | Associate Director of Marketing/Graphic Designer |
| Milan Pejnovich | Marketing Associate |
| Diane Osolin | Box Office Manager |
| Heather Dumdei | Assistant Box Office Manager/Database Administrator |
| Benjamin Brownson | Assistant Box Office Manager |
| Matthew Sitz | House Manager |
Charles Newell
Artistic Director
Charles Newell has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 30 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial highlights at Court include The Wild Duck, Caroline, Or Change, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Man of La Mancha, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hamlet, The Invention of Love, The Little Foxes, Nora, and The Misanthrope. Charlie has also directed at the Goodman Theatre (Rock ‘n’ Roll), the Guthrie Theater (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award. He has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Charlie is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago’s highest theatrical honor) nominee and recipient. Most recently, his production of Caroline, Or Change at Court was the recipient of 4 Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production–Musical and Best Director–Musical.
Stephen J. Albert
Executive Director
Stephen J. Albert is a founding Partner in Albert Hall & Associates, LLC a leading arts consulting firm. Prior to forming the consulting practice, Albert was recognized as a leading arts manager. He has led some of America’s most prestigious theatres, including the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, Alley Theatre, and Hartford Stage Company. Albert began his career with the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles where he worked in senior management positions for over a decade, rising to Managing Director. He went on to become Executive Director of Houston’s Alley Theatre where he led a turnaround that stabilized the organization, enabling the Alley to return to national standing and drove a capital campaign that secured the organization’s future. At Hartford Stage, his partnership with Mark Lamos resulted in some of the theatre’s most successful seasons and reinforced Hartford Stage’s position at the forefront of the regional theatre movement. During his tenure in Hartford, Mr. Albert led the initiative to create a 25,000 square foot, state-of-the-art production center, securing the donation of the facility and the funding for its renovation. Albert has served as both President and Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and as a board member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG). He has also written and produced a variety of productions for television, is an ACE award nominee, and has been an associate producer of numerous acclaimed Broadway productions. He is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum, a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management.
Ron OJ Parson
Resident Artist
Ron OJ Parson is in his fifth season at Court where he has directed The Piano Lesson, The First Breeze of Summer, Flyin' West and the highly acclaimed, Jeff Award-winning production of Fences. He is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble of Chicago. He hails from Buffalo, New York and is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Professional Theatre Program. In Chicago he has directed shows at The Goodman (Let Me Live), Steppenwolf (Wedding Band, a co-production with Congo Square Theatre, Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train, and The Horn, a co-production with City Lit Theatre), Victory Gardens (Hambone), Congo Square (The Piano Lesson and co-directed and acted in Ali), and Urban Theatre Company (Short Eyes). He has also worked with Black Ensemble Theatre and eta Creative Arts Foundation, most recently directing Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil. For Onyx, he directed East Texas Hot Links, Sty of the Blind Pig, and Flyin' West, among many other shows. Regionally he has directed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Palmer Park), the St. Louis Black Repertory Co. (Jitney), Portland Stage Company (Fences, The Piano Lesson), Virginia Stage Company (Yellowman), Studio Arena Theatre (A Raisin in the Sun), Village Theatre in Issaqua, Washington (One Red Flower), Madison Repertory Theatre (Topdog/Underdog), Actors Theatre of Louisville (Gem of the Ocean), and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Radio Golf). Also an accomplished actor, Parson has worked at various theatres in and out of the U.S. Some TV and film credits include E.R., Early Edition, Turks, Primal Fear, Ali, Barbershop 2, and Drop Squad.
Drew Dir
Resident Dramaturg
Drew is commencing his first season as Resident Dramaturg for Court Theatre, where he oversees dramaturgy for five shows per season. In the past, Drew has worked as a playwright, dramaturg, and director in Chicago and London. Most recently, his short play The Lurker Radio Hour was voted Best Production at Collaboraction’s Sketchbook 8 at the Steppenwolf Garage; his writing has been called “daring” by the Chicago Tribune and “ballsy” by Time Out Chicago. Recently, Drew studied for a master's degree in Text and Performance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, where his work focused on the theory and practice of postdramatic adaptation and staging. He is also currently a Lecturer in Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago.
Cree Rankin
Casting Director/Artists-in-the-Schools Director
Cree Rankin joined Court Theatre in July 2002. His directing credits include touring performances for young audiences for the George Street Playhouse Touring Theatre in New Jersey, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night (Foundation Theatre, Pemberton, NJ), On The Verge (Stockton College, NJ), and Desire Under the Elms (Tulane University, LA). In the Chicago area, he has directed for Theatre-Hikes and Hamilton Wings of Elgin. From 1991 through 1997, Mr. Rankin was the Education Director at George Street Playhouse. From 1999-2003 he was a teaching artist with Urban Gateways of Chicago.
Marc Stubblefield
Director of Production
Marc is currently in his 9th year as Court's Director of Production. He has also designed lights for four Court productions, having worked with Artistic Director Charlie Newell on Glass Menagerie and Arcadia, and Ron OJ Parson on First Breeze of Summer and Wait Until Dark. He has worked at the Geffen Playhouse, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and the Alley Theatre among others. He received a dual MFA in Production Management and Scenic Design from UCLA's school of Theatre, Film and Television, and his BA in Technical Theatre from Rice University.
Heidi Thompson Saunders
General Manager
Heidi Thompson Saunders joined Court Theatre in 2009 after four years as the Executive Director of Barrel of Monkeys, an arts education theater company that brings creative writing and drama programs to under-served Chicago public schools and park districts. Heidi received her MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 2005 with concentrations in general management and marketing. From 2001-2005 she was the Managing Director of the U of C’s University Theater/Theater and Performance Studies and a freelance stage manager. Heidi has been mentored at least twice, first as a participant in USITT’s Stage Management Mentoring Project and more recently through the Illinois Arts Alliance’s Mentor Connection Service. She has served on committees for the Chicago Family Theater Association, the Chicago Comedy Association, The Illinois Theatre Associations and the League of Chicago Theaters and remains on the board of Barrel of Monkeys. In 2008 she was #16 on the Chicago Sun Times list of “50 Chicagoans making a difference.”
Adam Thurman
Director of Marketing and Communications
Adam Thurman was the Executive Director of the Congo Square Theatre Company before joining Court Theatre in 2008. Mr. Thurman is the author of the E-book, The Unfair Guide to Building a Powerful Board and the article Three Tips for Making More Money from Your Art. He is a former Board Member of the League of Chicago Theatres, has served on the Illinois Arts Council's Advisory Panel, and has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by Americans For the Arts. Adam is also the President of Mission Paradox, a marketing coaching organization devoted to connecting art and audience. He has an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Eastern Illinois University, plus a law degree and a Master's Degree in Human Resources from the University of Illinois.
